16 ABI; And That's All She Wrote...

        “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

     If I had to summarize this first semester in a few words, I would pick difference and growth. Looking back, I am still awe struck that I already have the first semester of college under my belt and a great semester at that. A trend throughout this course has been reflection so here goes the final look in the mirror of the semester as a whole.

                Coming to college I knew would have many foreign elements in which I would have to extend beyond my comfort zone to adjust to. I was very used to the family aspect and going to a high school filled with close relationships with just about everyone. Being exposed to an environment where you may not see the same people twice and not having your family in arms reach was different. Difference may be positive or negative depending on your reaction to the situation and in this case, I would say it was positive. The first few weeks of course were abstract and at times hard to get through but I think the growth and individuality I have obtained since being away is something to be proud of. Not only did I grow in this way, but my learning and my knowledge has become that of a college student. I feel as though I have reached where I want to be as far as reading and writing wise which was one of my goals orginally. I am able to take responsibility for my own learning and also feel as though I am already disclosed to so many different fields of study. I have also noticed that I have a greater appreciation for learning and education, and have also become pretty confident in my abilities.

                I feel as though my biggest achievements this semester would include involving myself in various campus activities that I would just brush off in high school and also getting involved. I completed two video projects that had to do with clubs and getting involved because this was one of my regrets as I finished high school. I was part of one or two different organizations in high school but in college, a reachable goal of mine would be to get involved as much as possible. I have already started to climb this mountain as I am part of Programs Council, the Service Commission, and have started looking to study abroad which are different risks I have taken and never would imagine myself doing so. Furthermore, I have been able to hand each and every assignment for every class in on time and can say I’ve definitely put my best foot forward. I have decided that I am going to make my college experience worth it and take my studies seriously just as I did in high school because it was a strategy that definitely had great outcomes. With this, I feel I have gotten a better handle on balancing my social life with the college workload which is also something I wanted to improve upon from the beginning of the semester. It is important to go out and have fun to get away from the work for just a little while but I am very aware that we don’t come to college to party, we come to college to obtain a degree.

                It is such a great feeling to know that I got off on such a strong note here at Southern, and wouldn’t change a single thing about this first semester. The friendships I have made and the academic achievements are unimaginable and it can only go up from here. As long as I keep my optimistic outlook and work ethic, these next four years are going to be some of the best of my life. I cannot wait to start taking classes in the Communication Disorder field, but I am grateful to have general education classes which have built a strong foundation to shape me into what it means to be a college student. Goals for next semester would be to keep meeting as many different people as I can and to keep growing my mind and self. College is not an easy journey but with motivation and perseverance it is attainable. It has been such an amazing semester and I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday and an enjoyable winter break!!

16V; Free at Last

                “The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage.” 

― Carrie Jones

After a semester full of hard work, we are finally free. We are rewarded with a whole month to relax and spend time with our families for the holidays. This freedom is much needed after sixteen weeks of non-stop work, pressure, and determination. Freedom, however, can be looked at from many different points of view. We live in a country full of freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights. Some of these include freedom of speech, press, and religion. As I have many loved ones in the armed forces, I have heard countless times that freedom isn’t free, this is just something for all of us to think about. There are many people risking their lives to protect the countries freedoms and I would like to take the time to wish them happy holidays as most of them cannot be home with their families. Furthermore, I am thankful to have the freedom to make mistakes especially in college in that it provides me to improve and progress to be the best I can be. As I conclude my last blog posts, I will go make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate and sit by the Christmas tree to start my month of freedom.

                A new word this week is ochlophobia, a noun meaning, “an abnormal fear of crowds,” and also klaxon, also a noun meaning, “a loud electric horn, formerly used on automobiles, trucks, etc., and now often used as a warning signal.”

Final Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwYOlOfW378&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!!

15A; Feedback

      Despite all of the other papers and projects I was expected to complete this week, I finally drafted the video for my final project in Inquiry class. My creativity was incorporated as I organized the video on getting involved into a Jeopardy fashion. After showing it to the class on Thursday, I was pleased to find out the idea was appreciated and I got so many compliments on it.

                I feel that by watching our peer’s videos, we were able to pick apart the assignment and get a better understanding of the expectations when watching. We were able to give positive feedback which is important, instead of just looking at what needed to be worked on. For instance, most videos in our class had strong creativity and images which helped to make the videos effective. Also, by watching other students work, I was able to get ideas that I could potentially apply into my video such as music throughout the entire duration because I felt this was operative.

                Personally, my video got a lot of positive feedback although it is only a draft and I realize that it needs a lot of work. One aspect I will do my best to revise is making sure that the text stays on the screen for a longer period of time so the audience has a chance to fully read it and also Paige suggested that I include a voice over to accompany the text. Furthermore, I plan to include more college-level thinking in my video which will include statistics of students who get involved and those who don’t, and also plan to interview the personnel in Student Life to get a faculty’s point of view. The video is half way done and it is so far so good so hopefully the second half comes out just as solid as the first half. I appreciate the fact that we had the opportunity prematurely to show our videos to the class because it is sometimes difficult to see the flaws when you’re the one who created the project.

In what ways will constructive criticism help you better yourself/video project?

15I; THINK Before You ACT

This past Thursday, I attended an event on campus which I feel any student everywhere should have seen. Flashing lights, actors covered in blood, and sirens galore, it was the mock crash put on the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center.

As the medical personnel showed up to this mock crash, a firefighter outlined the procedures they take when responding to a crash and following this presentation, we ventured into Wilkinson Hall to listen to a state policeman. The way he approached the subject of alcohol and drinking as a whole changed my outlook and really opened my eyes to a new point of view. Although he knew he was “preaching to the choir,” he took a different take on the subject of alcohol and drinking as a whole. He felt that the whole concept of not drinking and driving has been drilled into us and speaking about it would be beating a dead horse, so he decided to focus on just drinking at parties. He went on to explain how if we are not driving and our keys are taken away from us, that we are free to drink as much as we would like and have a low risk of being put in a dangerous situation. However, we quickly learned that this was false. Lieutenant Bartalotta showed us video clips of various minors drinking and being put in fatal situations. I am so happy and appreciative to have had the opportunity to attend this presentation and am strongly considering joining the DARC in future events they put on in that I would really like the chance to speak to all students and strongly encourage them to think before they act. Life is short and your life can change in the blink of an eye!

15V; Focusing on Yourself

      With our first semester quickly coming to a close, college is not so new to us anymore. However, the choices we make on a daily basis will continue through our next four years here and throughout our life. This is the autonomy of a college student. Our individual choices and responsibilities, as well as freedoms such as eating whatever and whenever we would like. As college students, we also have to take responsibility to learn as much as we are capable of and invest ourselves into our education so that we can complete our ultimate goal of obtaining a degree. Essentially, our measure of autonomy is now up to us and life is what we make of it!

                A new word I learned this week includes, flummox, a verb meaning, “to bewilder; confound; confuse.” Another word I learned is, serotinal, which is also an adjective meaning, “pertaining to or occurring in late summer.”

How can we take advantage of our own autonomy? What are ways our autonomy as freshmen in college has changed?

Final Video Rough Draft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7AtgCMSXwY&feature=youtu.be

To add;
How it helps to get involved
Statistics of college students getting involved/ why some don't
How to go about getting involved